Lightning, thunder, heavy rain lead to ground stops at O'Hare, Midway

Editor's Note: Chicago's O'Hare and Midway Airports were both under ground stops due to thunder and lightning Friday morning. O'Hare's ground stop will continue through 9:30 a.m.

Many in the Chicago area woke up Friday morning to lightning flashes, thunder, heavy downpours and even pea-sized hail as a narrow band of showers and storms moved across the area.

About 5:15 a.m., NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Kevin Jeanes reported as many as 150 lightning strikes over parts of Cook, Lake, Kane and DuPage counties since 5 a.m.

"Lots of lightning here," Jeanes said. "It's expected to last for the next few hours."

As of 5:30 a.m., live Chicago weather radar from the NBC 5 Storm Team showed rain, heavy at times, across parts of Cook, Kane, DuPage, McHenry and Lake Counties in Illinois, and parts of Northwest Indiana.

As of 5:40 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration had issued ground stops for both Chicago's O'Hare and Midway International Airports due to thunderstorms and lightning. The ground stops were expected to last through at least 7 a.m., the FAA said in an alert.

According to Jeanes, on-and-off, scattered rain and storms were expected to continue through around 9 a.m., though some could linger through 11 a.m.

"The chance of thunderstorms is much lower after 7 a.m.," Jeanes added.

By afternoon, strong winds will pick up, Jeanes said, with gusts as high as 45 miles per hour at times. The strongest winds were likely to occur between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Jeanes said.

Friday afternoon would also see warm temperatures, Jeanes said, with highs reaching into the mid-to-upper 70s. According to the NBC 5 Storm Team, the record high set in 1986 for Friday was 79 degrees.

Saturday will see occasional showers, though much of the day will be dry, Jeanes said, with highs in the upper 60s. Sunday, rain and storms are back in the forecast, Jeanes said, with some parts seeing a risk of severe weather in the afternoon.

"The strongest risk of severe weather will be south of I-80," Jeanes said.

According to the National Weather Service, parts of the Chicago area were at "slight" and "enhanced" risk for severe weather Sunday, which rank as level two and three out of five.

"Severe weather is becoming increasingly likely for at least portions of the area Sunday," the NWS said, though uncertainty remained.